Crime & Safety

East Windsor Gun Store Owner Pleads Guilty to Firearms Violations

Nancy Lanza, mother of Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the Newtown Sandy Hook school shooting, reportedly purchased a gun from the East Windsor store.

This article was written by Jayme Kunze.

Broad Brook resident David Laguercia pleaded guilty to multiple firearms violations charges in federal court on Thursday, according to a press release from the state's U.S. Attorney Office.

Laguercia used to run Riverview Gun Sales in East Windsor. An investigation of the store by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives turned up two instances in which customers were given guns before receiving approval from the national background check system, as well as hundreds of examples of incorrect or omitted information in the store's records, the release said.

“This investigation of one of Connecticut’s largest gun dealers revealed hundreds of record-keeping violations, improper sales, shoddy inventory procedures and seemingly non-existent store security,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly. 

“Federally-licensed firearms dealers are our first line of defense in making sure that firearms don’t wind up in the wrong hands, and gun dealers who don’t follow the rules and violate federal law will be prosecuted.”

Laguercia pleaded guilty to transfer of a firearm before completion of background check and failure to maintain proper firearm records and put in a guilty plea for Riverview Sales on a charge of making false entries in dealer’s records, the release said.

The maximum penalty on each of the charges is one year of imprisonment, five years of probation and a $100,000 fine, according to the release.

Riverview Gun Sales has been at the center of several recent, highly controversial incidents over the past several years. In April, the store lost its license to sell guns after several months of investigation by the ATF.
The store had sold a gun to Nancy Lanza, the mother of Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old who police said is responsible for the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook School. Adam Lanza killed his mother in their Sandy Hook home before he shot his way into the school and killed 20 students and six adults, state police said.


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